Message from Gene Neely, Fire Chief

 

 

Here we go……

 

I would like to thank my staff and the crews of the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District for their dedication through these last few months. It is always hard when change comes down the pipeline, but the changes that we faced were more than just difficult to accept at times.

 

Just to recap, we had two retirements recently the Fire Chief and the Business Manager, and we also faced a budget deficit of over 336,000 dollars. Looking back now that we have approved a balance budget, I would like to thank Fred and Angela for the cost savings of their retirement and let’s not forget the City of Lathrop’s loan of 395,000 dollars. I would also like to thank the members of I.A.F.F Local #4317 and the Administration for their selfless efforts to fill the gap by taking concessions on their retirement.

 

Although, we have just made it through some rough times the job is not complete, we will need to look forward to stabilized funding. This will not come from one source but a series of policies, funding mechanisms, and cost saving measures.

 

First, we will need to fill some gaps in the funding we receive. This is not going to come easy, we will be visiting each area we currently receive funding for and evaluate the services provided out there to determine any additional needs. This is going to take a serious commitment of the citizens we serve and the dedicated employees of the District.

 

Second, we need to provide reserves for the hard times we are facing now. Of course we have made it through the struggle with some wounds. We will need to fortify our funding for future challenges; this will come by building up of our reserves to fill the gaps when the economy drops.

 

Lastly, we have to provide the best response to our citizens “They deserve that” from the child that looks up to the Firefighter as their hero to the senior that needs our assistance making their home fire safe. We have to serve our public! This in no way takes away from the job that our employees are currently performing, however every time we leave our station for a request for service let’s remember why we took this job.

 

 In closing, I would like to stress that our employees are our most valuable resource, and they put their life on the line every day. I can personally say that even on medical calls when we see devastation causing such hardship to the families, we would take that all away if we could. Our employees here at Lathrop-Manteca Fire District have always had to do more with less. The sacrifice that we endure sometimes feels as if we ask too much. I would like to express my heartfelt thank you from myself and my family for your dedication.

 

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Gene Neely